Hundreds of Residents Expected at Hearing on Airport Expansion

Although a final decision on the proposed Van Nuys Airport expansion is months away, residents who say they fear additional noise and diminished property values are trying to keep a spotlight on the long-debated issue.

Several hundred residents are expected at a public hearing Wednesday at the Airtel Plaza Hotel in Van Nuys. The hearing concerns the environmental impact report and preliminary master plan recently released by the Los Angeles Department of Airports.

Those documents outline 12 possible strategies that would mix industrial, aviation and commercial uses at the 730-acre site. An airport spokeswoman said the department’s preferred option would reduce current aviation space from 396 acres to 232 acres and increase non-aviation acreage from 58 to 278 acres. Another 220 acres would be reserved for runway and clearance areas.

Last Tuesday, a few dozen people attended a meeting of the airport’s Part 150 Steering Committee, which aims to foster understanding between the community and the airport. One of the committee’s principal concerns is noise.

Residents groups, including Homeowners of Encino, say the proposed expansion would increase noise at the airport, whose 500,000 annual takeoffs and landings make it the busiest general-aviation airport in the nation. They contend that while the airport will not increase its total acreage, the number of flights will rise.

“What are they going to do, soundproof the whole Valley?” asked Anne Carver, who said airport noise has increased since she moved to Sherman Oaks in 1984. “Where are people supposed to live? Somewhere there has to be quality of life.”

A 60-day public review and comment period began Nov. 14. Material from that period--including comments from Wednesday’s hearing--will be considered when the master plan is finalized.

In the next few months, the expansion proposal will be reviewed by the Los Angeles City Planning Commission, the Board of Airport Commissioners, the City Council and the Federal Aviation Administration. The City Council is expected to vote on the plan in June, said airport spokeswoman Stacy Geere.

Wednesday’s hearing will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Balboa Room of the hotel, at 7277 Valjean Ave.